Annual bird count sees numbers swell

Each year, members of the Bermuda Audubon Society go out from dawn until dusk to count birds.

This year they counted 9,422 individual birds, 800 more than last year.

Among the unusual species spotted on January 2 were the White-winged Dove, the Brown Creeper and the Northern Gannet.

It was the 36th annual Christmas Bird Count and 16 members of the Audubon society took part.

Worldwide, more than 50,000 observers participate each year in this all-day census of early-winter bird populations. The results of their efforts are compiled into the longest running database in ornithology, representing over a century of unbroken data on trends of early-winter bird populations across the Americas.

Andrew Dobson, president of the Bermuda Audubon Society, said in America the event was originally called the Christmas Side Hunt, during which people would go out and shoot birds and whoever brought back the most won.

But around the turn of the 20th century, it was changed to the Christmas Bird Count when the bird population began to decline.

Talking about the local event, Mr. Dobson said: “Considerable effort went into planning the count, with the observers dividing the island up into nine areas. Completing much of the census on foot, observers also used car, bike, boat and golf carts.”

He also spoke about the various birds spotted this year.

“Some unusual species were seen this year. New species for Bermuda’s count included a White-winged Dove seen by Jeremy Madeiros in the Smith’s Hills and a Brown Creeper seen by Paul Watson in Ferry Point Park.

“Other unusual species included a Northern Gannet which passed through my field of view while I was watching two Humpback Whales off Warwick Long Bay.

“Two globally endangered species of birds were recorded, our own national bird, the Cahow, and the Piping Plover, a small shorebird which breeds in the eastern U.S. and Canada.”

Mr. Dobson added that Kildeer and American Pipit arrived in “large numbers” due to the recent bad weather on the Island.